Chennai (PTI): The dream of Chennaiites to commute in a modern metro rail became a reality, after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa inaugurated the Rs 14,600 crore project on Monday.

The first train started from Alandur station to run to Koyambedu, moments after Jayalalithaa presses the button from the Secretariat.

It will be a fully paid service from day one, contrary to some media reports that suggested free rides for a while for people to get acclimatised to the metro system.

“Free rides were never under consideration. Some officer suggested it during a meeting, but it was not taken seriously,” CMRL sources told Deccan Chronicle, adding that the service will be open to the public after a few trips.
From afternoon, train services will run till 10 pm today. From Tuesday, the service will start at 6 am and end at 10 pm.

The operating hours will in course of time be extended to the originally planned schedule of 5 am to midnight.

Initially, five or six trains will be put on the route (nine trains are readily available for commercial run after successfully going through the mandatory tests) and the frequency will be maintained at 10-12 minutes. The trains will stop for 30 seconds at each station.

The minimum fare will most likely be Rs 10 and maximum fare may go up to Rs 40. Smart cards are understood to cost Rs 100.